Daimon (Guardians of Hades #6) - Felicity Heaton Page 0,19
spread her feet shoulder-width apart.
A warrior’s stance.
It was still unsettling seeing her sweet, kind-hearted Mari transforming into a vicious, battle-hungry furie.
Violet shone in Mari’s eyes, edged with black.
Caterina muttered something in Catalan and turned with Marek, her back still plastered to his. He finished off the daemon she had been fighting, snapping the man’s neck with nothing more than a well-aimed uppercut with the heel of his right hand.
“Blood,” Caterina hollered as she lashed out at another daemon, driving the female back with her sword. “Eli gave me a cocktail of blood. It gave me powers.”
She grabbed the daemon by her hair and shoved the female’s head down fast as she brought her knee up hard. It cracked against the daemon’s forehead and Caterina released her, letting her crumple to the ground.
“What if they have more of that blood?” Caterina looked at Keras, Ares and then Mari.
“I don’t like the sound of that.” Marek turned with her again and she shoved her right hand forwards, driving the sword through the eye of a male daemon.
Ares bit out a black curse.
“So now the enemy can siphon powers from blood?” Daimon raised his hand and five shards of ice shot up from the rooftop, impaled the daemons he had aimed them at and lifted them into the air.
The wretched humanoid things struggled, desperately clawing at the ice protruding from them, causing black blood to roll down the slick surface to the roof.
“We will find out later.” Keras sent a wave of shadows racing over the dome and Cass’s gaze followed them, because she wasn’t sure what he was aiming at.
The Erinyes.
The two blondes were coming over the top of the dome, the one on the left falling behind as she limped.
“Complete the mission. Grab her,” she bit out from between clenched teeth.
The furie on the right nodded.
They were talking about Mari.
Cass grabbed hold of her and pulled her back when she went to launch forwards, held on to her and refused to let go, weathering a hiss as Mari turned on her, her violet eyes flashing dangerously.
Daemons surged towards them from her left, driving Ares and Daimon back towards her, and more poured through the portal, into the falling night.
Two daemons made it past Ares, snarling and snapping sharp teeth as they lunged in her direction.
Daimon appeared between her and the vicious creatures, threw his left hand forwards and sent two spiralling daggers of ice at them. The one on the left went down shrieking. The one on the right nimbly dodged the attack.
“Stay close,” Daimon growled.
“I have this,” Cass countered and unleashed her own attack, a spell designed to freeze blood. “I don’t need protecting.”
The twin bolts of blue shot past Daimon as he turned icy eyes on her. “I’ll decide that.”
He swept his right arm up and before her spell could connect and prove that she didn’t need him watching out for her, three spires of ice shot up from the rooftop, impaling the daemon in his thigh, stomach and shoulder.
Cass glared at Daimon as black blood oozed down the jagged clear ice.
“I had that.” She pulled Mari closer to her. “Snegovik.”
He scowled at her but said nothing, because he was a snowman. Cold as ice. Standing alone in this world. Bringer of brief joy followed by despair and misery.
Perhaps that was a little too harsh, but he had ruined her fun. She had been about to prove she could handle herself, maybe even make him see that she could fight on the frontlines if she chose to, and he had spoiled it.
Keras hurled another wave of shadows at the Erinyes, and a portal formed behind them. The one on the right backed towards her sister, took hold of her arm and helped her into the portal. She stopped and glared down at Keras, her violet eyes glowing in the fading light, and then stepped into the portal.
The shadows tore through it, twisted around and attacked it again, decimating it.
Keras turned to her. “Get Marinda away from here.”
She nodded and summoned a spell, but it was chilling darkness that took her and Marinda from the rooftop, cold that seeped into her from a spot on her wrist, spreading outwards along her arm. Her feet touched solid ground again and the cold released her, warmth seeping back in to chase it away.
She looked at Daimon where he stood beside her, his glacial eyes on her arm.
“You all right?” he grumbled, his gaze not leaving the point where he had touched her.